Brits on board with internet ad self-regulation
By John Lister
The United Kingdom’s online advertisers have agreed principles for protecting user privacy when producing targeted ads. The moves have the backing of a government agency, which may avoid the hostile relationship between companies and government that prevails in the US.
The Internet Advertising Bureau, which represents 465 organizations and individuals in the industry, launched the principles today. Several foreign-based internet firms have joined, including AOL, Google and Microsoft. The guidelines have also earned the backing of Nebuad, the firm which controversially inserts targeted adverts directly into the internet feed of some subscribers in the US.
The principles cover the collection of data for targeted advertising. That’s where online ads are chosen based on the type of websites you look at and other online behavior, rather than being standard ads based on the particular site you are visiting.
The firms involved have agreed that, within six months, they will comply with three commitments: to give notice when collecting data for targeted adverts; to give users a choice about whether their information is collected; and to educate users about how the data will be used.
The IAB has also launched a consumer website about the issue at http://www.youronlinechoices.co.uk. It gives user tips including the importance of creating separate user accounts. The argument is that this allows each user to tweak their own privacy settings, though it would theoretically mean more effective adverts as well.
The guidelines have the support of the Information Commissioner’s Office, the government-backed independent agency which oversees privacy and data protection issues in the UK. Relations between British officials and firms appear much stronger than in the United States where the Federal Communications Commission recently told online advertisers to expect “a day of reckoning” and the possibility of legislation if they didn’t improve their privacy practices.
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